Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 2 Thessalonians 2:10

"and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." — 2 Thessalonians 2:10 (ASV)

(10a) That Satan is the root of the lawless one’s deception is explicit in a further elaboration. The word for “work” (GK 1918) is reserved for supernatural activities; i.e., a superhuman person will utilize supernatural means of “miracles, signs and wonders.” These remarkable phenomena, which in the past were used so effectively in laying a foundation for the church (Acts 2:22, 43; 4:30; 5:12; 6:8; 7:36; 14:3; 15:12; Romans 15:19; Hebrews 2:4), will be redirected to purposes of deceit. They will be “counterfeit” (GK 6022) in the sense that they produce false impressions, deluding people to the point of accepting the lie as truth (cf. v.11). The motivation of the lawless one is to deceive; it is the nature of unrighteousness to palm itself off as righteousness. “Those who are perishing” will be particularly vulnerable to trickery. Not only will they confuse unrighteousness with righteousness; they will also attribute deity to this lawless one (v.4).

(10b) Their blindness will be self-imposed because of a prior refusal to “love the truth and so be saved.” They lack a positive committal to the Gospel. This is just as blamable as indifference or even antagonism toward the truth. The right choice could have brought them salvation and deliverance from the lawless one’s devices, but they elected not to receive God’s salvation.